RANJI TROPHY | Vidarbha enters second consecutive final in style

Mumbai's lower order frustrates Vidarbha bowlers, but Harsh Dubey's brilliance secures Vidarbha's spot in the Ranji final.

Mohit Avasthi and Royston Dias — in sync with Mumbai’s trend for the season of the lower order contributing much more with the bat than the top-order — frustrated the Vidarbha bowlers a lot. It resulted in the second session being extended by 30 minutes and Mumbai’s last-wicket partnership crossing the 50-run mark.

However, off the fifth ball of the last session, Harsh Dubey — the stand-out bowler this Ranji Trophy season — rapped Avasthi on the pads. Umpire Virender Sharma upheld the appeal and the entire Vidarbha camp screamed in unison before a pause.

Avasthi reviewed the decision, the DRS confirmed the on-field call, and it was followed by a prolonged celebration. Not only had Vidarbha convincingly avenged last year’s Ranji Trophy final loss against Mumbai, but more importantly, it had entered its second consecutive Ranji final.

Even before the last day’s proceedings began, the writing was clearly on the wall. Mumbai required 323 runs with seven wickets in hand to chase down the improbable target of 406. In the first 90 minutes, thanks to Yash Thakur and Dubey striking in unison, Mumbai was staring down the barrel at 124 for six.

Yash Thakur had undone Shivam Dube with pace and movement, before Dubey accounted for Suryakumar Yadav — the additional bounce resulting in a top-edge to second slip — and Akash Anand — lbw off a skidder.

Then began Mumbai’s lower order fightback, with Shams Mulani and Shardul Thakur again handing a lesson to the top-six about how to apply themselves in adverse conditions. The duo rotated the strike and found gaps regularly.

Just when the partnership was getting dangerous, having crossed the three-digit mark, Danish Malewar’s direct hit from a difficult angle found a diving Mulani short of his crease. Yash Thakur then beat Shardul with pace with the second new ball, and Tanush Kotian got a skidder from Parth Rekhade that barely rose above his ankle.